"R" is for Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College

When I left the doldrums of the world (sorry Yumans and Decaturites) to move back to Philly going on 8 years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was the enroll in cooking classes. Now, I was very specific about what I wanted. I didn't want one of those suburban housewife classes where you sit at a counter and watch some surly schmuck cook a meal and then hand out recipes afterward. But I also wasn't about to enroll in an actual culinary school where I would be graded. I wanted a casual, yet instructive, hands-on course.

As I have told many people over the years, the classes I took at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College were a perfect choice for me. They weren't necessarily cheap (about $300 for a 6-class series) but they were definitely worth the money. I learned how to debone a chicken, filet a fish, make ravioli, and lots of other very useful skills. Not only that, but the amount of food we ate and took home as leftovers was astounding (as long as you remembered to bring Tupperware).

For all that, though, I had never actually eaten a meal in one of the Restaurant School's working restaurants, even though I had hounded the wife and others for years about it. Finally, on Thursday night, we went.

The Restaurant School has 4 different working restaurants -- an international theme, a Continential theme, an Italian theme, and a Great Chefs theme. The menus are relatively ambitious and the prices are very reasonable. We went to the international restaurant and paid $21 for a 3-course meal. Plus, you will never find wine as cheap as that which exists on the school's wine list -- there were FULL BOTTLES for $15. The average bottle was about $20-25. For someone used to seeing ridiculous 200% markups, it was a striking change.

Now, that said, there is a reason for the affordability. The wait staff are students, the chefs are students -- basically, it is a teaching restaurant. Our waitress was right out of high school and probably had never waited on a table in her life. It's funny how you notice little things rookie waitresses do wrong that you take for granted in "real" restaurants -- forgetting silverware, always sliding the soup bowl onto the floor, failing to check in on the quality of the food while they are receiving instruction from their instructor. These are all things that may be unforgivable (or at least annoying) at a 3-star restaurant, but it's almost cute in this setting.

As for the food? Again, not surprisingly, hit and miss, especially for the first week of the semester. The wife went with the pumpkin soup (yum), hangar steak (yuck), and a red velvet torte (yum). I took chances with the rabbit rilletes (OK, tasted like tuna), monkfish (pretty good), and bread pudding (yum). Frankly, I was expecting to have to send one or more dishes back to the kitchen, but the wife was the only one to have a "return to sender" item when her steak was undercooked.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: You'd think that, with students manning the kitchen, the menu would be small and simple. Not true. We had 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, and 10 or so desserts to choose from. And that was only in one of the four restaurants (that said, there were all of 4 other customers in all of the restaurants combined on a fall Thursday evening so it's not like the kitchen was slammed). The dishes are not simple to execute so the aspiring chefs presumably are learning techniques. Yes, you are, to some degree, a guinea pig so there is always going to be some trepidation about biting into a new dish, but the wife and I were both fine. It wasn't a great meal by any meals, but it was not awful either.

THE DRINK: I already mentioned the wine list. It really is something to behold. As with the menu, there are lots and lots of options (probably 100+ wines in total), all of which are cheap. We ended up getting 2 glasses of wine, $5.50 each. A whole bottle would barely have been more, but it was a school night so I had to stay somewhat sober. I also got coffee after dinner. It cost $1. That is right -- one dollar. Amazing.

THE STAFF: Our primary waitress, who aspires to "own my own restaurant" was sweet. She's learning. We had a couple other student waiters and waitresses stop by as well. No major issues.

MAD PROPS FOR: The decor. These are really very beautiful spaces, intricately decorated with a very nice ambiance. That said, it was FFFFRRREEEEZING in there. Our waitress informed us that she had been told it's even worse in the wintertime. Bring a jacket I guess.

OVERALL: Hmm, this is a tough one. I mean, you definitely do get value for your money and it's not as if the food was bad, but I don't know that I'd rush back, especially early in a semester. Maybe later in the year when the students are a little more seasoned, I'd be more apt to return.

THE CHECK: $61 for 2, with tip. We were told all customer tips get pooled together and, at the end of the semester, the students all go out for a blowout meal. Not sure how true that is, but it sounded good.

OK, enough with being a nice, patient eater, back to being a demanding, harsh critic. On to the Ss...

Ineligible restaurants for round 18:

• Sabrina's Cafe -- Some people swear by Sabrina's as their go-to brunch spot. After one horrible experience with a hostess, I'll never look at it the same way. Besides, it's no Honey's.
• Salt and Pepper -- Cute, small BYOB in Queen's Village. They seem to have their fair share of these.
• Sang Kee Peking Duck House -- I love my peking duck and this is the best version I've tried in Philly's Chinatown.
• Serrano -- They have a weird deal where if you eat dinner at Serrano, you get preferred seating upstairs for concerts at the Tin Angel. Good thing for the restaurant, because it stinks and there is no reason to go otherwise.
• Silk City -- Hip, diner-like joint in Northern Liberties. Straightforward grease and fat. When you're in the mood...
• Standard Tap -- Perhaps Philly's first gastropub, still a great spot to eat, especially outside on the patio in the summertime. I love that the menu is on chalkboards throughout the restaurant. Cool touch.
• Supper -- Went here for my birthday 2 years ago. Some people really liked it. It was OK, but I haven't rushed back.
• Swanky Bubbles -- Went here for our anniversary this year. We were the only people in the restaurant, and it's not exactly a small place. It was really, really uncomfortable, although I will say the food was yummy.

Candidates for round 18:

• Saute -- One of those many BYOB's in Queen Village opened by the former chef at Alma de Cuba. http://sauteonline.com/
• Shank Original -- This Italian Market stalwart, which used to be called Shank and Evelyn's Luncheonette, has moved to 15th and Sansom. Supposed to a down and dirty joint, just the way I like it. http://www.shanksoriginal.com/
• Simon Pearce on the Brandywine - It's been many years since I have been to West Chester (talk about a suburb that is hard to get to). This is supposed to be one of their best restaurants. http://www.simonpearce.com/CSTM_restaurantsWindsor1.aspx
• Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse -- We'll try another BBQ joint, this one up in the Northeast. Supposed to be top notch. http://www.sweetlucys.com/